Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

GSA hosting MAS program webinar March 19th

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The GSA Schedules Program: What You Need to Know!

General Services Administration (GSA), Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) is hosting a Webinar – “The GSA Schedules Program: What You Need to Know!”

The webinar is open to all small businesses looking for additional information and guidance on GSA Schedules (MAS) Program.

Webinar will be hosted by GSA Region 8 Small Business Technical Advisor Eric Rettig on Friday, March 19, 2021 from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm ET.

Please register on the following Google Form: https://forms.gle/ULWKXY6nVyfvnnqQ6

Virtual Conference login information:

Google Hangout:

Meeting ID:  meet.google.com/vya-bvvm-bht

Phone Numbers 617-675-4444; PIN: ‪150 872 505 4284#

Note: Webinar will be hosted using Google “Meet”. Recommend using either the “Google Meet” App or Google Chrome when accessing the above link.

There is no cost to attend this webinar.

For more information visit:  https://beta.sam.gov/opp/98f7543fde62413a8dee0b178b09ac47/view

GSA temporarily waives some MAS solicitation requirements

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On 2/24/2021, GSA published a memorandum to temporarily waive the minimum corporate experience, relevant project experience, and annual financial statement requirements as prescribed by Multiple Award Schedule (“MAS”) solicitation provision SCP-FSS-001, Instructions Applicable to All Offerors, to facilitate America’s response to the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

You can read the full memo on GSA’s website here:  https://www.gsa.gov/cdnstatic/MV-21-03_0.pdf

GSA keeping ‘on track’ with schedule consolidation

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The General Services Administration has begun the process of updating pre-existing contracts to meet the terms and conditions of its recently consolidated acquisition schedule.

GSA consolidated 24 schedules for finding and purchasing solutions into one Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) on Oct. 1 to modernize acquisition for federal, state and local agencies.

New contracts are placed on the consolidated schedule, while pre-existing contracts must be modified to be placed on the consolidated schedule — the second phase of the process known as Mass Modification.  Schedule holders have until July 31 to accept the Mass Mod that GSA started issuing Friday, or else their offerings will no longer be accessible on GSA’s eTools platform.

Continue reading at:  fedscoop

GSA takes next step towards consolidating multiple award schedules

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After receiving more than one thousand comments from industry and other stakeholders, on October 1, 2019, the General Services Administration (GSA) issued a solicitation for a single, consolidated Schedule as part of its project to combine its 24 existing Multiple Award Schedules (MAS), also referred to as Federal Supply Schedules (FSS), into one.  It is an important step towards the agency’s goal of simplifying and reducing duplication in its Schedules program, through which more than $30 billion is spent annually on commercial goods and services.  However, much work remains before such a goal can be realized.

This update provides an overview of GSA Schedules consolidation, the timeline for its implementation, and key areas that Schedule contractors should be prepared to track in the coming months.

Continue reading at:  Perkins Coie

GSA to release consolidated MAS program schedule on first of October

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This week, GSA announced it is on track to debut its Consolidated Multiple Acquisition Schedule (MAS) Program Schedule Solicitation on October 1. GSA also gave federal contractors planning to bid on the MAS a head start on the process by releasing a final draft solicitation and an updated industry FAQs sheet. Let’s take a look at how to utilize this opportunity to prepare for the solicitation’s long-awaited debut.

GSA’s MAS Program “establishes long-term Government-wide contracts with commercial firms to provide government buyers with access to a wide variety of commercial supplies, services, and solutions.” GSA first announced its plan to modernize this Program “by consolidating its 24 Multiple Award Schedules into one single Schedule for products and services” on November 27, 2018. GSA aimed to “simplify the buying and selling experience for customers, suppliers, and acquisition professionals.” Over the past ten months, GSA conducted extensive market research and collected industry-wide feedback regarding its consolidation strategies, the new single solicitation format, and the streamlined terms and conditions.

GSA recently announced its plans to publish the Consolidated MAS Program Solicitation on FedBizOpps on October 1, so now’s the time to become familiar with the effects of the consolidation.

Continue reading at:  SmallGovCon 

GSA announces plans to consolidate MAS contracts and asks for industry feedback

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The General Services Administration is conducting market research for its planned consolidation of the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program.  Earlier this month, GSA publicly announced the new single solicitation format, including streamlined terms and conditions, and its intention to collect feedback from government contractors in the industry.  According to GSA, the consolidation is part of its two-year modernization process for the program that began in November of 2018.  The consolidated MAS solicitation is scheduled for release later this year.  And if you have concerns or suggestions for GSA on this significant consolidation, there is still time for your input.

On June 7, GSA publicized its plan to restructure the MAS Program by issuing a news release on GSA.gov and posting an RFI to FBO.gov.  GSA announced that it intends to streamline the federal acquisition process by consolidating its 24 MAS into a single schedule for products, services, and solutions. It hopes to complete the new consolidated schedule, which it calls “Phase One” of the project, during this fiscal year.

Continue reading at:  SmallGovCon Blog

The future of COTS procurement: Top 10 questions from GSA’s section 846 phase 2 report

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On May 2, 2019, the General Services Administration (“GSA”) and the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) finally released their Phase 2 Implementation Report (the “Phase 2 Report”) for “Procurement Through E-Commerce Portals,” as directed by Section 846 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (“FY 2018 NDAA”).

GSA/OMB offered a sneak preview of the Phase 2 Report at an Industry Day held on December 12, 2018, during which GSA/OMB revealed their intent to proceed with a proof of concept contract utilizing only the E-Marketplace model. Industry pushback against a single model proof of concept was both quick and severe and, coupled with the lengthy delay issuing the Phase 2 Report, many wondered whether GSA/OMB were reevaluating their proposed approach.

Much to the dismay of E-Commerce and E-Procurement portal providers, GSA/OMB stayed the course.  Their Phase 2 Report included two primary conclusions: (1) testing the E-Marketplace model exclusively during the proof of concept phase is the most practical approach, and (2) raising the Micro-Purchase Threshold (“MPT”) to $25,000 for 5 years exclusively for purchases made through the approved portals is necessary to maximize the effectiveness of the proof of concept.

While the Phase 2 Report provides these two concrete conclusions, ultimately, the Report raises more questions than answers. And what better way to address these than a good old-fashioned Top 10 List.  So, without further ado, here’s our Top 10 List of questions from the Phase 2 Report…

Continue reading at:  The National Law Review

An inside look at GSA’s federal marketplace strategy

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In a Federal News Network podcast, Emily Murphy, administrator of the General Services Administration, shares her vision for the agency’s Federal Marketplace Strategy (FMS).

During the podcast, Murphy outlines the four cornerstone initiatives (4C’s) of FMS:

  • MAS Consolidation
  • Commercial Platforms
  • Catalog Management
  • Contract Writing System

Murphy also provides an update on customer agencies growing use of GSA’s procurement portfolio, including the MAS, IT GWACs and OASIS.

Finally, she gives us a preview of the Federal Acquisition Service Training Conference scheduled for April 14-16, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia.  FAST 2020 is a national training conference for the federal acquisition workforce, industry partners and customer agencies.

Listen to the podcast at:  Federal News Network

Mass changes coming to all GSA Schedule contracts; webinar to be held on April 10

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The General Services Administration (GSA) is planning to “refresh” all GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) solicitations and issue a mass modification to existing contracts in April.  The changes include:

  • Updating proposal instructions to require order status on GSA Advantage! Orders.
  • Updating proposal instructions related to Section 508 Standards and information.
  • Incorporating new Service Contract Act (SCA) Wage Determinations.
  • Updating AbilityOne “Essentially the Same” Proposal Instructions.
  • Incorporating minor updates from FAC 2019-01 (defining “recruitment fees” in relationship to Combating Trafficking in Persons rules), as applicable.

In addition, individual Schedules may be updated with additional clauses or provisions to make clarifications, administrative corrections, and other required changes.

GSA will issue a bilateral modification to apply the changes to existing MAS contracts.  Contractors will have 90 days to accept the mass modification.

Please see Draft Significant Changes document for more detailed information on the upcoming refresh.

Note: This is the final set of solicitation refreshes before GSA consolidates the 24 existing MAS solicitations into a single Schedule for products and services. To learn more about MAS Transformation, read GSA’s Nov. 27, 2018 press release.

Webinar Offered

Register now for GSA’s April 10, 2019 public webinar about upcoming changes to MAS solicitations. This webinar will be in a listen-only format with the ability for participants to ask questions via an online chat function.

●         Date: Wednesday April 10, 2019

●         Time:  1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Eastern Time

●         Registration Link

 

The devil’s in the details as GSA seeks to consolidate the Multiple Award Schedules

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The General Services Administration (GSA) will use the coming year to determine what its recently announced consolidated schedule will look like, according to the official leading the effort.

GSA announced in November the consolidation of 24 multiple award schedules into a single contract vehicle that federal agencies can use to purchase a range of more than 10 million products and services. Each year, agencies purchase about $30 billion worth of products — ranging from office supplies to various IT services — through GSA’s 24 schedules.

“Over this year, we’ll start the consolidation of the MAS program,” said Stephanie Shutt, director of the MAS Program Management Office, speaking at a recent GSA industry day.

Shutt said an integrated project team consisting of MAS members and officials from various acquisition centers and portfolios is doing much of the early work. This team will help make crucial decisions that could shape the single schedule.

For example, Shutt said they are reviewing all existing terms and conditions and determining where overlap exists among special item numbers, which generally categorize the kinds of good and services available. One goal, she said, would be to get rid of redundant or duplicitous conditions.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2018/12/devils-details-gsa-seeks-consolidate-multiple-award-schedules/153638/

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